Chicago, New York among those expecting heavy holiday traffic
Orbitz data shows that Chicago's O'Hare International will be the busiest U.S. airport over the 2007 Labor Day weekend, taking over the top spot from Los Angeles International Airport, which was #1 in 2006. The Orbitz Insider Index, a leading research initiative that shows significant destination trend information in the travel industry, also revealed that Charlotte's Douglas International Airport made a significant leap in the rankings and will be the No. 2 busiest airport this year, moving up 15 spots from 2006.
"Those heading to airports on a holiday weekend should always expect heavy traffic, and it's important to know where the big crowds will be," said Heather Leisman, senior director of merchandising for Orbitz. "As we may see record numbers of U.S. travelers this holiday, our Insider staff picks highlight some popular but also not-so-crowded destinations to consider."
Orbitz Insider Index -- Additional Movers and Shakers
Internationally, Heathrow Airport in London is listed as the busiest airport and Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport, which held the No. 1 spot last year, slipped three places to No. 4. Also notable, gaining a few spots to rank as the No. 2 busiest airport, Cancun International is up from the No. 5 spot in 2006. San Juan International held the No. 3 spot for the second consecutive year.
Based on flight bookings on Orbitz.com, this Labor Day weekend the busiest airports are:
The Orbitz Labor Day Index Orbitz.com Busiest Domestic & International Airports over Labor Day Weekend**
2007 2006 2007 2006
Ranking Domestic* Ranking Ranking International Ranking
Chicago O'Hare
International London Heathrow
Airport Airport London,
1 Chicago, IL 3 1 Great Britain (UK) 2
Charlotte Douglas
International Cancun International
Airport Airport Cancun,
2 Charlotte, NC 17 2 Mexico 5
Philadelphia San Juan
International International
Airport Airport San Juan,
3 Philadelphia, PA 6 3 Puerto Rico 3
Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta Toronto Lester B.
International Pearson International
Airport Airport
4 Atlanta, GA 14 4 Toronto, Canada 1
McCarran
International Vancouver
Airport International Airport
5 Las Vegas, NV 31 5 Vancouver, Canada 6
Paris Roissy Charles
de Gaulle
La Guardia International Airport
6 New York, NY 9 6 Paris, France 8
Denver International Rome Fiumicino
Airport Airport
7 Denver, CO 10 7 Rome, Italy 4
Los Angeles Montreal-Pierre
International Elliott Trudeau
Airport International Airport
8 Los Angeles, CA 1 8 Montreal, Canada 7
Phoenix Sky Harbor
International
Airport Frankfurt Airport
9 Phoenix, AZ 15 9 Frankfurt, Germany 12
Dallas/Fort Worth
International
Airport San Jose del Cabo
Dallas/ International Airport
10 Fort Worth, TX 12 10 San Jose Cabo, Mexico 10
**Based on air only ticket sales with an outbound departure date between
8/31/07 and 9/4/07.
The Orbitz Insider Index
Top 10 Busiest U.S. and International Destinations Over Labor Day Weekend
(Aug 31st - Sep 4th)*
U.S. International
1 New York, NY 1 London, UK
2 Chicago, IL 2 San Juan, Puerto Rico
3 Los Angeles, CA 3 Toronto, Canada
4 Washington, D.C. 4 Frankfurt, Germany
5 San Francisco, CA 5 Athens, Greece
6 Boston, MA 6 Vancouver, Canada
7 Philadelphia, PA 7 Paris, France
8 Seattle, WA 8 Mexico City, Mexico
9 Denver, CO 9 Barcelona, Spain
10 Phoenix, AZ 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands
*Orbitz.com destinations based on popularity for arrival 8/31/07 to 9/4/07.
